The Immediate

Last updated

The Immediate
The Immediate.jpg
The Immediate in 2007
Background information
Origin Malahide, Dublin, Ireland
Genres Indie, [1] krautrock, [2] neo-new wave, [3] Alternative rock, Post-punk, Art rock, Shoegaze
Years active2003–2007
Labels Fantastic Plastic Records [4]
Past membersDavid Hedderman
Conor O'Brien
Peter Toomey
Barra Heavey
Website Official website

The Immediate were an avant-garde [4] Irish rock quartet, based in Malahide. They made a considerable impact on the Irish music scene despite releasing only one album during the span of their association together. The album was In Towers and Clouds (2006). It received primarily positive critical feedback and was nominated for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year 2006. Alongside their sole album, several extended plays and singles were also released by the band.

Contents

They split suddenly in May 2007, citing "existential differences". The final line-up of the band consisted of David Hedderman (vocals, guitar, bass), Conor O'Brien (vocals, guitar, drums), Peter Toomey (vocals, drums, bass) and Barra Heavey (keys, guitar, bass, drums, backing vocals). The band was known for swapping instruments regularly throughout sets.

History

Early days

The band members were raised in middle-class Dublin during the Celtic Tiger boom years. [5] O'Brien called it "a spiritually bereft place". [5] They lived in Malahide. [5] Hedderman, O'Brien and Toomey came together at St Conleth's College in Ballsbridge, Dublin. [5] Heavey joined the band at a later stage and they first performed as The Subterraneans. [5] Hedderman studied painting at the National College of Art and Design, while O'Brien studied for an arts degree in English and Philosophy at University College Dublin. [5] The band took their name from their favourite adjective—"immediate".

Among the venues for early gigs were hotel function rooms and a church. The band then spent their college years taking a more direct approach to making themselves known to a wider audience, playing parties and college balls, and occasionally organizing their own shows in Eamonn Dorans, a small pub venue in the centre of Dublin. A CD was thrown onstage at a Manic Street Preachers gig to a bemused Nicky Wire and another was even slipped into Beck's bag with a purchase at a Dublin bookstore. The band spent these formative years honing their craft, with David and Conor focusing on developing their songwriting skills, and Peter on his live performance, which was to become a particularly electrifying aspect of the group's live shows. At this time, guitarist Eoin O'Reilly completed the line-up of the group, and a self-released EP called "Don't Get Lost" (2003) was made available from a select amount of independent Dublin record stores.

They played the Antics indie night in Dublin's Crawdaddy music venue a couple of times. [6]

Breakthrough

London-based indie label Fierce Panda Records called the band and asked them to release a single. [5] Early in 2005 that label released The Immediate's debut single, "Never Seen/Say This", [5] as a limited edition double A-side 7". XFM and BBC Radio One played the track, and the DJ duo Queens Of Noize included the band on a compilation, leading to numerous shows in London.[ citation needed ] The band were visited by major labels but spurned these advances, preferring instead to maintain creative control of their work. [5]

Soon afterward, the band signed to another independent label, Fantastic Plastic Records, where they were to record their debut album. For reasons unknown, guitarist Eoin O'Reilly fell out with the group and was soon replaced by friend Barra Heavey, a regular collaborator who, with the introduction of keyboards, brought an electronic edge to the band which honed the overall sound of The Immediate.

Finally, in the second half of 2005, the band entered Jacobs Studios in Surrey where they recorded their debut longplayer with US producer Chris Shaw. The first recordings from this session were released in April 2006 as the acclaimed "make our devils FLOW", a four-track EP on CD and 7" double-pack.

On 18 August 2006, In Towers and Clouds was released in Ireland on Fantastic Plastic to mixed approval. [4] [7] [8] On 25 August, the record debuted in the Irish Albums Chart at number 33 and three weeks later, it was in position number 67. [7] On 18 September, In Towers and Clouds was released in the United Kingdom. [7]

That month, The Irish Times 's rock critic Jim Carroll called the record "one of the best Irish debut albums of the last 20 years" and hoped The Immediate would "be around for a long time to come". [7] The Irish Independent 's John Meagher named it his fifteenth best Irish album of the 2000s. [9]

Following the album's nomination for the Choice Prize in 2007 (which led to a performance at the awards ceremony on 28 February), the band also performed at the 2007 Meteor Awards. Prior to this (in 2006), The Immediate had headlined the RTÉ 2fm 2moro 2our.

Thoughts turned to a second album soon after the release of the first and Hedderman reported having "a lot of sleepless nights" in their attempt "to get these ideas down right now". [5] On 28 February 2007, a national tour was announced. [10]

Split

On 19 April 2007, The Immediate were confirmed as performers at that year's Trinity Ball. [11] This proved to be their last performance as the band announced they were to split at the event on Friday 11 May 2007. They later confirmed this in a post on their MySpace page which cited "existential differences" as the reason for the split but which also stated "We all still love each other. Regularly". [12] [13]

The news was greeted with shock, particularly as critics had expected them to eventually become an international success. [12] Meanwhile, the band had on that very Friday been officially announced on Oxegen's website as one of the acts scheduled to perform at the Oxegen 2007 festival in July.

"As a thank you for all the amazing messages we've been getting since the band split" one final song was made available for free download via MySpace; "The Mist Above the Mind" was recorded by The Immediate in early 2007. [14] [15] Soon after the band's split numerous critics regarded them as the new Irish act with the most international potential and agreed they would be sorely missed.

On 9 November 2007, the Irish Independent 's entertainment supplement Day & Night published an article by band member Barra Heavey, explaining his take on why the band had come to an end. [16]

O'Brien later joined Cathy Davey's band, [1] before forming Villagers.

Style

O'Brien has said the band's earliest songs were reminiscent of Green Day, with a sound similar to The Kinks eventually evolving. [5] He has claimed The Kinks were "the first band I ever liked", and that he knew the words to "Lola" from a very young age despite the fact "I had no idea what it was about". [5] He sang the song "as a party piece", leaving his sisters "in stitches". [5] Radiohead and Britpop were other influences. [5] According to O'Brien, the band were obsessed with art. [5]

The Irish Independent said "Their moody, jerky rhythms sounded like Franz Ferdinand getting beaten up by Joy Division". [3] Analogue's Brendan McGuirk described them as "Louth's answer to an early form of Radiohead". [17] After witnessing one performance at The Black Box in Belfast, Hot Press commented: "There's a playful grope with U2 here, a quick fumble with Talking Heads there and a covert, climactic Krautrock fondle at the end", while the vocals and guitars on "Stop and Remember" were compared to Gang of Four by the magazine. [2] The Irish Times observed that they did not fit into any of Dublin's "many micro-musical scenes". [5]

Members

Discography

The Immediate released one album.

Awards

The Sunday Tribune 's Una Mullally named The Immediate as the "Best Irish Band" of 2006, saying "they have the ability to be one of the most important Irish bands of the decade, if they can hold it down". [18]

Choice Music Prize

The Immediate's debut album In Towers and Clouds was nominated for the Choice Music Prize, an award won by The Divine Comedy for the album Victory for the Comic Muse . [3] [4] [19] [20] Toomey had not expected the nomination. [4] The band performed at the award ceremony in Vicar Street on 28 February 2007. [21]

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2007 In Towers and Clouds Irish Album of the Year 2006Nominated

Meteor Music Awards

The Immediate were nominated for Best New Irish Act at the 2006 Meteor Awards. [22]

YearNominee / workAwardResult
2006 The ImmediateBest New Irish ActNominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Corrs</span> Irish musical group

The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim. They are from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Frames</span> Irish rock band

The Frames are an Irish rock band based in Dublin. Founded in 1990 by Glen Hansard, the band has been influential in the Dublin rock music scene. The group has released six studio albums. In addition to Hansard, the band's current line-up includes original member Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Dave Hingerty, Joe Doyle, and Rob Bochnik.

Outlaws is an American Southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".

Clann Zú were an Australian-Irish band that formed in late 1999 in Melbourne. By early 2002 they had relocated to Dublin. The group issued two albums, Rua (2002) and Black Coats & Bandages, before disbanding in May 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal (Irish band)</span>

HAL are a band from Dublin, Ireland, composed of brothers Dave Allen (vocals/guitar) and Paul Allen (vocals/bass), Paul Hogan (drums) and Stephen O'Brien, who formed in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primordial (band)</span> Irish extreme metal band

Primordial are an Irish extreme metal band from Skerries, County Dublin. The band was formed in 1993 by bassist Pól MacAmhlaigh and guitarist Ciarán MacUiliam. Their sound blends black metal and doom metal with Celtic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Loose</span> Irish funk rock band

Republic of Loose were an Irish funk rock band from Dublin. Formed in 2001, the band formerly consisted of lead vocalist Mick Pyro, bass guitarist and vocalist Benjamin Loose, keyboardist Deco, guitarists and vocalists Dave Pyro and Brez and drummer and percussionist Coz Noelen.

Aslan are an Irish rock band from Dublin who formed in 1982. Composed originally of Christy Dignam, Joe Jewell, Tony McGuinness, Billy McGuinness and Alan Downey, the band has released six studio albums: Feel No Shame (1988), Goodbye Charlie Moonhead (1994), Here Comes Lucy Jones (1997), Waiting For This Madness To End (2001), For Some Strange Reason (2007) and Nudie Books and Frenchies (2012).

Bell X1 are an Irish rock band from County Kildare. The group consists of Paul Noonan, David Geraghty and Dominic Phillips.

Director were an Irish art rock quartet from Malahide in County Dublin. The group consisted of Michael Moloney (vocals/guitars), Eoin Aherne (guitars), Shea Lawlor (drums) and Rowan Averill. The band's 2006 debut album We Thrive On Big Cities was a critical and commercial success in Ireland. A follow-up album, I'll Wait For Sound was released in 2009.

The Pale are an Irish band of varying genres including rock, and indie. They have recorded twelve albums and have toured extensively in Ireland and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coronas</span> Irish rock band from Dublin

The Coronas are an Irish rock band that originated in Dublin. They release their music by their own independent record label, 3ú Records, and are based between Dublin and London. They have released seven studio albums, Heroes or Ghosts (2007), Tony Was an Ex-Con (2009), Closer to You (2011) The Long Way (2014), Trust The Wire (2017), True Love Waits (2020) Time Stopped (2022).

Dark Room Notes were an Irish electro/synthpop group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delorentos</span> Irish alternative rock band

Delorentos are a Dublin-based Irish alternative rock band, formed in 2005. They consist of Rónan Yourell, Kieran McGuinness, Níal Conlan and Ross McCormick. The band's debut album In Love with Detail was critically acclaimed in Ireland, being nominated for the Choice Music Prize and in the Best Irish Album category at the 2007 Meteor Awards, at which Delorentos were also nominated for Best New Irish Band. Two extended plays have also been released; their debut release, titled Leave It On, in October 2005, and the follow-up EP, titled Do You Realise, came out in November 2007. The Delorentos discography consists of a selection of singles which impacted on the Irish Singles Chart, such as "The Rules" in May 2006 and "Stop" in July 2007.

October Fall was an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in the summer of 2003, with Pat D'Andrea (vocals/guitar) and Clark Harrison (guitar) as the original members. These two originally played together under the name "Silver Lining". Soon after, the rest of the band was added: Nick Coleman (drums), Owen Toomey (piano), and Jack Marin (bass). Nick Coleman was replaced by Nick Scalise (drums), and Jack Marin was replaced by Greg Shanahan (bass).

<i>In Towers and Clouds</i> 2006 studio album by The Immediate

In Towers and Clouds is the first and only album released by the Dublin quartet The Immediate. The album received generally positive reviews on its launch and was nominated for the 2007 Choice Music Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Script</span> Irish rock band

The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, by lead vocalist, keyboardist, and guitarist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic and released their first album The Script in August 2008, preceded by the debut single "We Cry" as well as other singles such as "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", "Breakeven" and "Before the Worst". The album peaked at number one in both Ireland and the UK. Their next three albums, Science & Faith (2010), #3 (2012) and No Sound Without Silence (2014), all topped the album charts in Ireland and the UK, while Science & Faith reached number two in Australia and number three in the United States. Some of the hit singles from the albums include "For the First Time", "Nothing", "Hall of Fame" and "Superheroes". The band's fifth studio album, Freedom Child, was released on 1 September 2017, and features the UK Top 20 single "Rain". Their sixth studio album, Sunsets & Full Moons, was released on 8 November 2019, and features the single "The Last Time". A Greatest Hits album was released on 1 October 2021.

Scuba Dice were an Irish pop punk and punk rock band who gained national attention after participating in the 2007 series of the singing contest You're A Star.

Giveamanakick—typeset as giveamanakick and abbreviated as GAMAK— were an Irish rock music duo from Limerick. The two band members were Stephen Ryan (Steveamanakick), the vocalist and guitarist, and Keith Lawler (Giveamanakeith), the drummer.

Ward Hayden and the Outliers, formerly known as Girls, Guns and Glory (GGG), is an American band from Boston, Massachusetts. They currently release music independently but formerly had signed with Lonesome Day Records and released albums with Sony RED, MRI and Dry Lightning Records in the US, as well as through Proper in the UK and Rough Trade in Europe. Their music is a mix of old school country, early rock 'n' roll, blues, and country rock. Inspiration is taken from Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton classics. Ward Hayden and the Outliers has garnered seven Boston Music Awards (BMA). They were the 2011 winner of the BMA for "Americana Artist of the Year", and were nominated in the "Live Artist of the Year" category. They were also the 2019 winner of the BMA for "Country Artist of the Year". The band is popular throughout Europe and Scandinavia and has toured there for several years. Their 2016 album Love and Protest was a top 5 album in Norway and peaked at #1 on the Norway country album charts.

References

  1. 1 2 Neil Dunphy (30 September 2007). "Pride after the fall". Sunday Tribune . Retrieved 21 April 2010. Davey then recruited some band members. Conor O'Brien from now defunct indie band The Immediate and Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan will play drums during the forthcoming tour. It's quite the supergroup.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "The Immediate live at The Black Box, Belfast". Hot Press . 22 September 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 "Here come the judges". Irish Independent . 13 January 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Una Mullally (18 February 2007). "Who wins? You don't decide. . ". Sunday Tribune . Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2010. The Immediate, a Dublin four-piece who released their debut, In Towers and Clouds, on British label Fantastic Plastic (home to The Futureheads and Guillemots), have been drawing acclaim since their inception. [...] Excellent avant-garde jittery indie from one of Ireland's most exhilarating live acts.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Immediate Gratification". The Irish Times . 25 August 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  6. ↑ Patrick Freyne (15 July 2007). "Alternative Ireland". Sunday Tribune . Retrieved 21 April 2010. We often have one band playing in the middle of the DJ set for about half an hour. And a lot of great bands have played at it. I love Fight Like Apes. The Immediate have played a couple of times, The Mighty Stef, the Warlords of Pez . . . most of the bands in Dublin have played at it really. Mainline have played it twice. The bands really enjoy it because they're playing to a full house, and there's nowhere else you can get that pure energy and excitement.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. 1 2 3 4 Jim Carroll (15 September 2006). "Charting a cautionary tales of two albums". The Irish Times . Retrieved 21 April 2010. On August 18th, The Immediate released their debut album, In Towers & Clouds, in Ireland. On August 25th, In Towers & Clouds debuted in the Irish album charts at No 33. Three weeks later, it's still in the Top 75 (at No 67) and has sold more than 1,000 copies. It will be released in Britain next Monday. [...] Look at The Immediate. Here's proof that you don't necessarily need large amounts of cash to have a hit as long as you have cracking songs and an album which gets bigger, better, bolder and brighter with every listen. One of the best Irish debut albums of the last 20 years, In Towers & Clouds is the work of a band who are inventive, ambitious, smart and sharp - and who will hopefully be around for a long time to come.
  8. ↑ Aidan Curran. "A review of their album 'In Towers And Clouds'". CLUAS. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  9. ↑ John Meagher (11 December 2009). "Loaded: 11/12/2009". Irish Independent . Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "The Immediate announce full-on tour". Hot Press . 28 February 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  11. ↑ "More bands confirmed for Trinity Ball". Hot Press . 19 April 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010. The Immediate are but one of the acts newly confirmed for the Trinity Ball.
  12. 1 2 "The Immediate split up!". MUSE.ie. 14 May 2007. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "The Immediate call it a day". Hot Press . 14 May 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  14. ↑ "The Immediate release one more tune". MUSE.ie. 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  15. ↑ "The Immediate's swan song". Hot Press . 24 May 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  16. ↑ Barra Heavey (9 November 2007). "The Immediate: End of days". Irish Independent . Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  17. ↑ Brendan McGuirk (6 April 2007). "The Choice Music Prize". Analogue. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  18. ↑ Una Mullally (31 December 2006). "2006 in song: was it music to our ears". Sunday Tribune . Retrieved 21 April 2010. Best Irish Band The Immediate. The best thing about the arty, unstructured In Towers And Clouds, the debut from these Dublin multiinstrumentalists, was the notes they didn't play . . . the songs that had gone before and what more they are capable of achieving. They have the ability to be one of the most important Irish bands of the decade, if they can hold it down.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ Una Mullally (14 January 2007). "The lowdown on what should be top". Sunday Tribune . Retrieved 21 April 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  20. ↑ "I heard the 'Muse' today, oh boy!". Irish Independent . 10 March 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  21. ↑ "Is a prize in the Immediate future?". Irish Independent . 28 February 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  22. ↑ "Meteor Award nominations announced". RTÉ. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.